Slipknot/Stone Sour's Corey Taylor: The 5 greatest lyricists of all time

Corey Taylor is adamant: when it comes to writing lyrics he’s had plenty of good teachers.

The Slipknot/Stone Sour mainman tells MusicRadar: “I’ve been writing songs since I was 12, even before I could play an instrument. I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I think I’ve been guided along the way by some fantastic teachers and I wouldn’t be here without them. Without those writers I wouldn’t have the courage to do my thing.”

And do his thing he most certainly does. As you can conclude from the fact that Stone Sour release the second half of epic double album project House of Gold and Bones in April, this guy is a song- and lyric-writing machine.

With so many beloved influences picked up down the years, when we asked Corey to pick out his favourite five lyricists it quickly became apparent that making his selections wasn't going to be easy. But like a true pro, he picked a handful out of the bag for us: here’s who got the nod…